Sunday, April 1, 2018

It's Sunday!

"Why do you look for the living amoung the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"
Luke 23:5

Today we celebrate an empty tomb.
A risen Savior
The dawning of a new age.

As one of my favorite authors puts it, we can now have the "confident expectation of goodness coming to us."*

Today, feel the Spring air.
Listen to the birds call to one another
Admire a fresh bloom and bright green leaves.

Call your loved ones.
Hug your family who gather around the table.

Today is a holy celebration. Life won.

The Creator redeemed His creation.

Jesus lives.















Photo by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash
*John Eldridge, All things New

Friday, March 30, 2018

Good Friday

"But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."
Luke 22:53

Forgive me
For every sin I added on that day
For every weight my error brought
Forgive me

You did not turn from duty
You did not shrink from pain
You bravely set in motion
The day the world would change.

You gave your life as ransom
You paid the final debt
You bore the Hero's burden
Even until death.

Consider this
O' Earth, as the sun puts out its light
Until the morning dawns
Consider this.




Thursday, March 29, 2018

Holy Week- Thursday

"I have eagerly desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
Luke 22:15


Until

That lovely word that speaks of something yet to come.
And promises that the story still unfolds.
There is more.

I wonder did He see the day
The fulfillment of His vow
A vision of the feast before Him
His friends from all ages passing the cup.

Until.















Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash






Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Holy Week- Wednesday

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with the dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 21:34-36

Today seems so real
The things that are
And the things that are not
So weighty.

And yet a day is coming with more weight
Then any since this Holy week, we remember
When all our lists, our errands, and our work
Will come to a screeching halt.

And we will stand wide-eyed
Before an ever dawning
New Day.

Father, please guard and guide us in your care
And may we be able to stand before the One
Who stood for us so many years ago.




















Photo by Kristen

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Holy Week- Tuesday

"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."  
Luke 20:38

A seeming contradiction
The senses do not find
When phone numbers are silenced
And yet, He calls alive.

We do not clearly see that age
That He makes us worthy of
But let us hope with confidence
He will see us safely home.

For time is not His master
Death bows to His will
And if He calls them living
Then living they are still.















Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

Monday, March 26, 2018

Holy Week- Monday

"My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers."
Luke 19:45

A home is a holy place
Built with rock and time
Tuned to its builder's music
Learned in daily rhyme

Who then would have the nerve
To disgrace the owner's way
To turn his home into a trap
And expect no debt to pay.
















Photo by John Cafazza on Unsplash

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Palm Sunday


"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in the heaven and glory in the highest!"
Luke 19:38

Palm branches wave
Expectations run high

Each hopeful heart rejoicing
Longing for their King

Will the prophesies finally be true

In this Man?














Photo by Levi Hernández on Unsplash

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Never Enough

A beautiful sunrise.

An entire day to clean and organize.

A relaxing vacation.

A family trip to the mountains.

Why is it that these things often leave us feeling both full  and empty at the same time? Full because we lived in the moment, loved the time, even made the most of it. Yet empty because it’s still not quite enough to satisfy the longing inside.

Are we ever finished?  Preparing. Cleaning. Laughing. Dreaming. Loving?

We hear of living in the partial. But how do we “not lose heart” while doing so?
How do we make peace with the passing of time? With having enough of what we need, but not always the extravagant abundance we desire.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

I'll conclude with one of mine. I believe that God is good today. That He provides wisdom and council and joy for life's journey. And that perhaps my work is not to mourn the loss of perfection today, but to instead hold confident hope that it will come. That one day there will be enough.  And the pressing thirst will finally be quenched by the water of life.




Friday, March 2, 2018

Thoughts on age and train tracks

"I'm used to being younger."

The off-handed honest comment by my speaker at a writing conference struck a chord with another attendee who laughed and said "I'm used to being younger too!"

Aren't we all?

When you are young, getting older feels like maturity, wisdom, gaining responsibility and freedom.  And while I'll still claim a degree of youth, I remain astounded at the speed in which years roll by.  And how little age feels like your birthdate. 

It's like I'm on a train, enjoying the green pastures and rolling landscapes, the children playing outside, the families on picnic blankets.  It's quite the ride.  But it is going faster than I thought it would.

And I wonder, where is it going?

I don't know all the tracks and vistas yet before me.  But I do know something of the destination. And though my knowledge of it remains veiled, still seen dimly through a glass, longing for the face-to-face, the destination is worth pondering. 

I do not believe the destination is a final check on a lifelong to do list.

Rather some combination of a long journey and a race. 

Not to go faster, but to arrive well, do our best to play our role in the great hope of bringing it's arrival to us, before we come to it.


















Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash




Monday, January 8, 2018

Happy One Week Birthday 2018!

January, with it's cold winds, white colors, and feelings of newness, has fully begun, reminding us that February will be next.  Valentine's day and pink hearts.  Then March with Spring Break and the aqua ocean calling college kids and retirees alike to southern shores.

How does time go by so fast? Has it always been like this?

When I was younger, time seemed to tick by at a more appropriate pace. Summers were endless, at least until they weren't.  But they still seemed long and packed with fun. And the years seemed slower.

For those reading, I would love to know: as an adult, have you found a way to live slower, to be more present, multi-task sometimes, but not always?  And if so, does it result in 'longer' years?

I'm curious this year about very-adult-sounding-things like rhythms and systems that support the life I want to live. Capsule (ish) wardrobes and meal plans. Bullet journals and planners.

But so far the greatest consolation I have found against Father Time is from his Superior.

In an unexpected yet comforting verse. "And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."  Romans 8:10-11

Despite my worthy efforts to fully enjoy this year, its only temporary. Thankfully it's not the only chance I get. Eternity sounds like a much better time scale to enjoy, grow, and experience beauty with loved ones.

What are you hoping for in 2018?  What about eternity?


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